


the allure of danger

by thelocalmaniac



Series: Lucio Is Smitten [6]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe, And apparently is a monsterfucker, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Lucio is a god or a monster or something, Named Apprentice (The Arcana), Other, Shapeshifting, The apprentice is a human, The apprentice is like white people in horror movies in this situation, They/Them/Theirs Pronouns, monster au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:17:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22400119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelocalmaniac/pseuds/thelocalmaniac
Summary: The Apprentice meets a monster--or a god--and decides the correct course of action is to bring it home with them.Lucio!Monster AU
Relationships: Apprentice & Lucio (The Arcana), Apprentice/Lucio (The Arcana)
Series: Lucio Is Smitten [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1520888
Kudos: 52





	the allure of danger

**Author's Note:**

> The Arcana and its characters are not mine!

The sight should send them screaming, they knowit should, and yet somehow they can’t find it in they to feel anything other than pure curiosity. 

Already Elodie's friends had fled, their screams slowly fading away amongst all the others as people scattered in panic, practically trampling each other as they attempted to put distance between themselves and whatever the hell had just landed in the middle of the fair grounds. 

One look at the horns and red eyes had those who hadn’t _already_ bolted at the devastation caused in their arrival, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

And yet Elodie still lingered.

Slowly they found themselves walking toward it, their feet moving on their own as Elodie gave into the strange pull they felt. As soon as they heard their shoes scuff along the ground, its head snapped towards Elodie, lips pulled into a harsh sneer and eyes glowing ominously in the dim light. 

The moment its crimson eyes locked on Elodie's, however, they could feel it all fall away, its expression morphing from wariness and fear--no, _anger_ \--into a curious wonder. Kneeling beside its downed form, Elodie let their eyes roam over its features curiously, fingers itching to trace the strange intricate markings on its white fur. 

Strangely enough, its eyes seemed to roam over their features with just as much awe, large hands-- _hooves_ digging in the dirt as if to restrain itself from reaching out. The chill that radiated off of its body was a sharp relief compared to the humid heat of the fair grounds, something Elodie fought not to lean into, much to their embarrassment, though they distracted themself by looking it over for wounds. Luckily there were none that you could see, though its coarse fur did cover the majority of its skin. Elodie could only hope that it was simply drained of energy as it appeared rather than hiding something far more serious under its fur.

The faint but growing sounds of sirens made them tense and snap out of it, knowing that they needed to get it out of here, and _fast_. They doubted that it would be treated with anything even approaching kindness, especially given the destruction its “arrival” had caused. 

Squaring their shoulders, Elodie met the red gaze of the stranger again, speaking before they could change their mind.

“We need to get you out of here. Do you think you can stand?”

The wariness in its eyes was clear, but thankfully it seemed that it had picked up on the situation rather quickly, giving Elodie only a simple nod before beginning to push themselves upright. It tensed at Elodie's touch as they moved to help it, but luckily didn’t push them away, leaning on them ever so slightly as they both made their way out of the wreckage.

Now Elodie just had to figure out how the ever-loving fuck they were going to _transport_ and _hide_ a massive white goat with motherfucking _eyeliner_.

\--

His name was Lucio, apparently, and though he, as a god, did not subscribe to gender, he was comfortable with them using he/him/his pronouns. For now, that was what they were going with.

He ate meat, despite looking like a goat. He claimed he had lots of powers, including the ability to change into humans, but he "couldn't do it right now". He didn't like Elodie's apartment.

To be fair, though it looks no different than the rest of the apartments, but inside it harbors what one could call a greenhouse. Vines climb the edges of the windows that look out on the city, ripe tomato plants hang down from above, drooping from the weight of their fruit. Elodie had moved there from the countryside and refused to wallow in homesickness, instead bringing plant matter with them to the city. They were here for college. Explaining what college was to Lucio took several tries.

"I used to be a Count where I am from!" he told them, curled up on their sofa, which he had taken ownership of since he had shown up at the local fair.

"Count of what?"

"A kingdom! They loved me."

Elodie smirked. "Then what, pray tell, are you doing here?"

Lucio shrugged, huffing. "Somebody pushed me through some kind of portal! It was _crazy_. I thought I was going to die. Never thought I would show up in a human realm and end up living in such a _quaint_ little place."

Rolling their eyes, Elodie placed a plate of leftovers onto his lap, visibly annoyed. "Next time I'll leave you there to go to prison or whatever they do with space aliens." Lucio laughed at them; they both knew that there was not a universe in which Elodie would have left him there to rot.

\--

"Are you sure you're a god and not some sort of cryptid? You still seem pretty useless. You haven't even shown me your human form yet, you can't take any other shape so I can get you out of my apartment and show you around, and you don't have fingers to use shampoo. Some god." Elodie snickered, lathering their hands up with shampoo before working it into his white fur. Lucio pressed into their hands with an uncomfortably sultry sound, responding in kind every time they kneaded _just_ right. "Thanks for letting me bathe you, though. You were making my place stink."

"You _humans_ stink," the goat growled. His eyes rolled back into his head as they massaged suds around his horns. He could get used to this.

Back in the Arcana he never got dirty, so bathing wasn't really an issue that he had had before. If he ever went back, Elodie would absolutely _have_ to come too! Who else would lavish him with this sort of attention?

Elodie gently lowered his head down to the water, taking care to keep the bubbles out of his eyes, and got to work again. It had taken some convincing to get Lucio to agree to have a bath, and with hooves he hadn't been able to do it himself--this had been the only negotiation. "Oh? Do _I_ stink?"

Lucio shut himself up. He thought about Elodie's late night showers, how their hair smelled of ginger, how _clean_ they always were. He shook his head. "No, you're fine."

With his back to them, he couldn't see Elodie smirk.

Lucio was far, far softer than he liked to let on. Elodie had very much enjoyed finding out just how soft he could be if given the right situation.

Soon Lucio was being dried off while the water drained behind him; he was gushing about how soft and sleek his fur was. Now, he could definitely go without how unruly it looked right now, but he could just ask Elodie to brush or comb it later. Humans had such anal tactics to keep looking young and beautiful, including growing the dead proteins on their head for years. Though his human did not partake in a lot of those techniques (that he had noted thus far).

They finished toweling him off and stepped away, letting him admire his 'new look' in the mirror. Elodie sat down on the toilet lid and curled their legs up beneath them, watching him preen with the sort of vanity people expected of _humans_. They laughed. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm _beautiful_." he retorted, grinning fiendishly.

An hour later they were sitting out on their balcony, leaning on the railing while Lucio enjoyed the moonlight, basking on the chair nearby. Though Lucio wasn't supposed to go out during the daytime, he often sat on the rooftop looking at the stars. They were different than the constellations in the Arcana realm, and though he didn't know much about reading them, he at least understood that these were foreign skies. At first the human would bring him 'tea' or 'coffee' and then leave him be, but they had taken to joining him in the last few months. "Hey, Lucio?"

He blinked, peering over at them. "Hm?"

"What are you going to do if you get your powers back?"

Lucio considered this, cocking his head. Then he leered over at them. "I would turn into a human and do all of the things I haven't been able to since I first came here."

\--

"Can we snuggle?"

Lucio stared at them uncomprehendingly. "Can we _what_?"

Oh. Oh, they had absolutely _not_ realized that this was about to be an issue. "Do you gods never _touch_ each other? Nevermind. Let me just...okay. Right. Let me rephrase this, and I can show you." Steepling their fingers, Elodie considered this situation for a few beats, then tried again. "Can I touch you?" Wide-eyed, Lucio nodded slowly, too curious to disagree or be cumbersome in any way. Elodie offered a small, comforting smile before curling up on the seat next to him. They felt him tense instantly; they waited until he relaxed again before moving, gently leaning their head against his shoulder.

Several moments passed before Lucio slowly, carefully, loosened up, body sagging. Elodie linked their arm with his so they could press closer. It was still humid outside and Lucio had a low body temperature, always running cool even on the hottest of days. They had been wondering if it would be helpful for nearly a week now, and here they were, and the god was _tolerating_ them.

For now he didn't seem to hate what was happening, so Elodie buried their nose into his fur and continued to rest, leaning on him.

At some point he had begun to lean back into them, head resting against the top of their own, careful to angle his horns so he wouldn't accidentally stab them. They were quiet, simply taking the time to rest. Lucio had become quite comfortable with Elodie during their time living together; it hadn't been trust given easily, but Elodie had earned it. When they brought him home they had fed him, explained how the world here worked, stopped inviting their friends over to make sure that he was safe, and continued to help nurse him back to health. He still wasn't able to transform into other bodies yet, unfortunately, but hopefully once he got his strength back things would be different.

He said he was one of the Arcana, a series of gods. Elodie still wasn't sure if they believed him, but he was definitely not human.

 _What happens when he has enough energy to go home? Does he have to leave? I don't know if I could go back to living alone in this house again after this._

They stay like that for awhile longer before Elodie moves to try and leave, only for Lucio to move an arm (leg?) across their chest to stop them. "Don't go," he murmured, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "You're so warm."

Elodie paused, astonished. Then, slowly, they melted back into his side as requested, shifted his arm so it was wrapped around their shoulder instead, and pressed their face to his cold chest.

\--

The first few days with the god had been hard--he had been practically insufferable. Being loud when Elodie tried to sleep, eating furniture, refusing to rest in the nest they had created for him. They demanded answers, answers Elodie did not have. How did he get there? Who sent him there? All they could tell him was where he was now and that he needed to keep a low profile. It wasn't until they had continued to try and feed him that Lucio had acknowledged that perhaps their kindness was just that: kindness.

It was nothing he was used to, nothing he had ever experienced before, and yet the strange human had offered it to him willingly, without asking for anything.

Things escalated from there. He was beginning to _enjoy_ himself here! In a human realm!

Of course, it didn't help that Elodie was almost constantly touching him, hugging him, holding his hands. They spent all of their free time with him, asking him about his day, about his culture, about his life, about the Arcana. They were always checking in to make sure he was eating enough or to find out if he had enough energy to get home. They listened to him, they made him feel heard, they made him feel seen. That had been the oddest part about being here: having somebody who paid attention to him when he spoke. Even if he was ornery or aloof or full of shit they would hear him out, respond, argue, prolong their interactions.

The others _never_ listened to him. This was new, and Lucio was grateful for it.

"What will you do once you have enough energy?" They were looking at him. Elodie closed the oven door and put the timer on for their cookies to bake before posing the question, and now they were looking at him, and it felt like a quiz.

Lucio walked over to them, looking thoughtful. "I suppose I'll go home. I'm sure my company has been greatly missed." It probably hadn't been, though.

Elodie considered this. Then they nodded. "You'll come back and visit, though, won't you? I'll miss you when you have to leave."

That stopped Lucio short. Had anybody ever missed him before? Unless he was needed in battle, or he was striking deals with the silly mortals in his own realm, he was hardly called upon just to talk. Nobody invited him to their worlds to _enjoy his company_. He was called if he was wanted or needed. He was called upon to be used. Lucio couldn't recall a time in his long life when anybody had invited him to visit them just to spend time. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he said, "Y-yeah, I can do that. Visit, I mean." When Elodie turned to beam at him, delighted, he felt incredibly choked up.

No, he decided. Nobody had ever wanted him around before.

Lucio didn't want to leave.

\--

His power came back to him with no preamble.

Surprisingly, it happened over breakfast. Inexplicably.

Lucio was holding a cup of coffee precariously between two hooves one minute, and the next his crimson eyes were blazing, a great gust of wind had gathered around them. The mug fell to the floor and cracked, splintered, and streaks of sharp shadows jutted out from his being. Elodie barely managed to maneuver themself out of the way of one of the shadow arms, gasping, and pressed themself into the corner of their counter-top island. " _Lucio_ , what are you _doing_?" they hissed, eyes narrowing.

Once he got the splurge of magical energy under control, the goatman straightened up, then began to stand slowly. He was gawking at his hooves as if he had never seen them before.

As the shadows retracted Elodie began to move forward, stepping carefully around shards of ceramic. Something in them screamed that they should _run_ , that they should get out of there. This was a god, a deity, and they had almost murdered them just now! This was ridiculous! They had not asked for this! But, also....

This was the Lucio that would sneeze a hundred times a day because of the flowers in their apartment. The same Lucio who loved taking baths, who refused to drink milk from animals because he was a _goat_ goddammit, who craved physical affection so much that he intentionally engaged in snuggle sessions on his own now, who had crash-landed into the fairgrounds and had trusted them enough to leave with them. Who made faces at himself in the mirror and ate all of their salad ingredients before they even got to eat any and--

Yeah, they weren't going anywhere.

Steeling their nerve, they reached out to him tentatively, shifting closer. "Lucio? Hey, are you doin' okay?"

He looked over at them slowly, methodically, and his eyes were blazing crimson. Then he grinned wildly, wolfishly. "Oh _hell_ yeah." With that he fluidly morphed into a new form, shedding his fur and horns and hooves and becoming something distinctly more human. Before them stood a fair-skinned man with blond hair, slicked back in some places and sticking out in spiked tufts nearer to the back. He waggled his eyebrows at them. Elodie stared, looking for something familiar in this lanky, broad-shouldered man, giving him a once over until their gaze met his.

Eyes, bright and glowing and red.

_Oh, there he is._

Lucio began walking over to them-- _prowled_ over to them--and as he did, he began speaking. "Do you remember that day that you asked what I would do when I got my powers back?" He asked, nearly purring. Elodie stood stock still, waiting, watching. _Hoping._ "I said I would turn into a human, and do all of the things I couldn't. Do you know the first of those things I have always wanted to do, though?"

They shook their head.

He stopped a heartbeat away from them, looking down at their soft, human features. "I wanted to kiss you," he breathed, gaze lingering on their throat when they swallowed. "I've wanted to kiss you for months now, almost since I came here. Even more now that I know you." They were kind, and clever, and brave, and he wanted them terribly. He had been looking for them before he had even met them.

Elodie was silent, awed by this development, before a slow, warm smile broke across their face. They didn't speak, knowing he trusted more in actions than words, and closed the gap. Their hands cradled his head and they descended upon him, fusing their mouths together. All this time they had considered if this would be an option, if there was any further they could go with this god that they so cared for, but they hadn't imagined it would be reciprocated. Not even for a moment. This was a pleasant surprise.

Lucio kissed them with a hunger he had never known for pleasures of the flesh. He hadn't realized that kissing could be like this--before it had always been used to seal deals or to manipulate, but never like this. Never for someone who mattered. Never with someone who wanted him to feel good, too.

When they broke apart Elodie's eyes were shining, and he was sure he had a slaphappy look on his face. They pressed into him, nuzzling into his cheek with open affection. "You're welcome to stay here, or to visit here, either or. I would _very_ much like to show you the rest of my world." Now that Lucio could do so safely, now that he looked like them. There was no good reason to be suspicious of him. He would _be safe_.

"I want that," he whispered, arms sliding around their waist, relishing in the power of being a god and the high of trusting someone. He couldn't remember having ever had someone to trust before. "All of it. With you."

"Well, then...welcome home."


End file.
